Auto belt stir steers towards Munjal Showa, hitting Hero

Interference by ‘outside’ elements is stirring up more trouble in the Manesar auto belt and now threatens production at Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler maker.

After trouble at Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger car maker, it’s the turn of  Munjal Showa, the country’s largest maker of shock absorbers for two-wheelers and four-wheelers, to report production loss as some workers have struck work since Monday evening.

Production has been affected at Munjal Showa’s plant in Manesar, where it normally makes about 60,000 units a day of shock absorbers for two-wheeler makers. As a result, supplies have been affected to group company Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and to India Yamaha Motor.

A senior Munjal Showa official told DNA that some 200 casual workers have struck work demanding regularisation. “We think they are being incited by outsiders. Casual workers want permanent jobs... we have been talking to them and will offer them some time-bound schedule for regularisation. Also, those eligible for regularisation will be considered.”

The official said production at the company’s two other plants, in Gurgaon and Haridwar, was unaffected.

But it is clear that unless the issues with workers are resolved fast, production at Hero MotoCorp and other two-wheeler makers is certain to be affected in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India continued its “no dialogue” policy with striking workers since August 29, when a strike crippled its Manesar facility. On Tuesday, it recruited the first batch of 100 new regular workers, dismissed five striking workers and claimed to have produced 500 units of Swift hatchback for the second day in a row.

The Maruti management has already dubbed the strike by its workers as “political” and refused to interact with them unless political interference is minimised.

A senior industry official said that unless the wildfire of worker protests is stemmed fast, it may well spread to other factories making spare parts and vehicles within Manesar.